The Voice of Melanoma Awareness

You’ve read my blog post “Real People of Melanoma."  You’ve seen the calendar of the Faces of Melanoma.  You may have walked Miles Against Melanoma.  And now, there is a Voice for Melanoma Awareness.

Two weeks ago, Chelsea of Adventures with My Enemy…Melanoma announced that she would be appearing on The Dr. Dan Show.  This is a radio show out of Austin Texas’ 93.9KJCE-FM and Talk Radio 1370-AM which airs at 9:00 AM Central Time every Saturday morning.  I tuned in and was very much pleased to have discovered this show.

The host is Dr. Daniel J. Ladd, Jr. who is board-certified in dermatology and Mohs surgery.  In short, he knows all about melanoma and skin cancer.  Recently, the Skin Cancer Foundation inducted him into the Amonette Circle Membership which ”signifies a commitment to skin cancer education to patients and demonstrates great leadership to fellow physicians.”  His co-host is wife Lurleen Ladd, founder of the Shade Project in Austin, TX which provides shade units to playgrounds and parks throughout their area.  Both are very knowledgeable and sympathetic to those who have been touched by melanoma and skin cancer.

Dan and Lurleen Ladd (Source: Facebook)

Chelsea was the main guest two weeks ago.  Last week they interviewed Shonda Shilling, wife of baseball great Curt Shilling.  Shonda is a melanoma survivor and founder of TheShade Foundation.  She’s a celebrity AND big wig in the melanoma awareness community…no slouch of a guest at all.

Granted, Dr. Dan’s show is not all melanoma all the time.  Per his Facebook page, the show is about all aspects of health.  “Dr. Dan is an advocate for contemporary, holistic health practitioners in Austin. Future shows will spotlight the many, exceptional doctors that believe that whole body, preventative care is the key to life-long health and topics will include solutions for healthy living ranging from what to do when you feel tired and lethargic to how to treat those sore muscles from your weekend exercise, to how to prevent suffering from seasonal allergies so common here in Austin.”  At the same time, his expertise is dermatology and he usually has some good words to share about sun and skin safety.  Whether featuring a tanning-related fashion disaster in their “Good, Bad and Ugly” segment, or their end-of-show give-away of free sunscreen, the good doctor is sure to raise his listener’s melanoma awareness.

I encourage you to support Dr. Dan Ladd and his wife Lurleen in three ways. 

First, listen to his radio show every Saturday morning at 9:00 AM Central time (10:00 Eastern time).  Here’sthe link to listen to the radio station online.  If you miss it, they post a podcast of the entire show later in the day (so you can still catch Chelsea’s interview from a few weeks ago!)

Second, “Like” his Facebook page.  I’d love to see his “Like-count” reach very high levels.  (I’m sure his radio station would as well).

Finally, and most importantly, Lurleen’s Shade Project is nominated for the Merz Aesthetic's STAND AND DELIVER contest.  If she wins, her organization will receive a significant amount of money to be used for additional shade projects in the Austin area.  Visit the Shade Project's website and cast your vote today...and do it again every day.  Promoting sun safety, whether it be in your town or in Austin, Texas is something worth spending a few minutes a day to vote for.

Please give Dr. Dan a listen and share your thanks for giving a voice to melanoma awareness!